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Avery Johnson named Alabama's men's basketball coach

FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2012, file photo, Brooklyn Nets head coach Avery Johnson reacts in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Barclays Center in New York. A person familiar with the negotiations says Alabama has offered its men’s basketball job to former NBA coach Johnson. The person spoke to The Associated Press Sunday on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made about the coaching search. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)(Photo: Kathy Willens, AP)

TUSCALOOSA — Just as the NCAA National Championship was tipping off Monday night in Indianapolis, Alabama kicked off its hopeful return to basketball prominence with a splash announcement.

More than 24 hours after news leaked nationally, Alabama made it official: Avery Johnson will be the Crimson Tide's next men's basketball coach.

The hiring comes three weeks and a day since former coach Anthony Grant was fired following six seasons at the helm, during which time the Tide made the NCAA Tournament just once in 2012.

"I am confident that Avery will provide our student-athletes with the best qualities of leadership: commitment, hard work, enthusiasm, poise, confidence, and pride," Alabama athletic director Bill Battle said in a statement. "I am very excited about having Avery join the Crimson Tide family.

"Not only do I believe that he will be an excellent head coach, but I am also convinced that he will be a tremendous example to our student-athletes in all areas on and off the court."

Contract details were not made available by Alabama, but multiple reports indicate it's a six-year deal at roughly $3 million annually. Johnson is expected to be introduced at a press conference Wednesday.

Johnson, 50, is a unique choice to coach Alabama given that the former NBA coach never coached in the college ranks. Nevertheless, he brings the kind of high-profile name and personality that alumni have craved since Grant's departure.

"Coach Johnson has an impressive record from the professional ranks, as both a player and a head coach," Battle said. "His personal history is a testament to what character, enthusiasm, perseverance, talent and intelligence can do. He has shown fortitude and skill in every opportunity."

Johnson, who has a 440-254 record through parts of seven seasons as an NBA head coach with both the Dallas Mavericks and the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, reportedly accepted the job Sunday.

CBSSports.com's Gary Parrish reported earlier Sunday that Battle spent the better part of the weekend meeting with Johnson in Dallas.

Battle originally offered the job to Wichita State's Gregg Marshall, who turned down a reported contract upwards of $4.2 million annually over six years, according to the Wichita Eagle, to sign an extension with the Shockers last Wednesday.

News of Johnson's hire caught the attention of second-year Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, who called Johnson a "great hire" in a text message to the Decatur Daily earlier Monday.

"It's a great hire," Pearl told WJOX-FM on Monday morning. "Avery's a good man and a great coach. He'll be a great addition to the league and the state of basketball in Alabama. … I think Alabama is a good situation, there's some real good depth and great size on the front line."

Pearl praised the SEC's recent string of head coaching hires in basketball, with Johnson joining former UCLA coach Ben Howland at Mississippi State and ex-Texas coach Rick Barnes at Tennessee.

"All three hires (bring) instant credibility, instant name recognition, instant reaction across the country as you league just got better," Pearl told the radio station.

A 16-year NBA veteran as a player, Johnson brings a championship pedigree, having won an NBA title as a point guard with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.

As a head coach, Johnson took the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals in his first full season in 2005-06, for which he was named the NBA's Coach of the Year.

But Johnson struggled to repeat that success over the next four seasons, losing in the first round of the playoffs in 2007 and 2008 with the Mavericks and missing the playoffs completely his first two years as head coach of the New Jersey Nets (2010-12). Johnson was fired just 28 games into the 2012-13 season with the Brooklyn Nets and has been an ESPN analyst since 2013.

Johnson, who bounced around in college before playing two seasons at Southern from 1986-88, is a New Orleans native whose son, Avery Johnson Jr., just completed his freshman season at Texas A&M.